Youth to the fore, with their community backing them

Terrill Humeyestewa performing a trick on a skateboard on the Hopi reservation in northeastern Arizona, the United States. Photo: Paul Molina via AP

They skateboarded on basketball courts and in parking lots, through highway intersections and down roads that twist from the mesas that rise above the high desert.

They set up tricks with old railroad ties and lumber, sometimes using their own skateboards to move the materials in place. During a pandemic that led to lockdowns, curfews and mask mandates on the Hopi reservation, the solo nature of skateboarding was a comfort.